Marketing Services

10-3-2011 at 1:54 pm

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Is this page for you? We recognize that not every artist is interested in commercial success. Some of our clients sculpt and create because it is their calling and they do so for the sake of the art itself. If you fall into this category, then this page is not intended for you. Please browse around and enjoy the rest of our site.

A proven partner for some of the biggest names in the industry

If on the other hand you do want to sell your artwork, then read on. As an industry leading foundry for over 40 years, we have seen just about every business model that has been used to sell sculpture during that time. We have been the foundry of choice for artists selling 300 pieces editions to single one-off masterpieces because we understand the need for a professional and reliable partner who understands the needs of your business. Programs by and for artists such as Norman Rockwell, Richard MacDonald, Bill Mack, Christian Lassen, Leonardo da Vinci, Erte, Frogman, Paul Wegner, Scott Hanson, and many more, are AFA’s legacy. The diversity of this group of artist speaks volumes about AFA’s talent and flexibility to deliver unique artwork, consistently.

Adapting to a 21st century marketplace

10-15 years ago, the internet came along and has since turned upside down the business of art sales. For those that have been able to adapt, they have stayed relevant and prosperous. For those that haven’t made the investment in maintaining relevancy and marketing know-how, their sales have declined or dried up all together.

The team at AFA brings an unmatched reputation for quality production. But what most don’t know is that we also influence a tremendous amount of art sales. We do this through several formal and informal approaches to creating opportunity for our clients.

On an Informal level, we are closely aligned with many of the top sculpture galleries and publishers in the industry. For many of them we act as a filter for sculpture to meet specific needs for subject matter, styles, price points, and more. When they have requests we recommend those artists that are committed to working with AFA.

On a more formal basis, we offer several solutions that allow clients to take more control of their own sales success. These can take the form of programs, consultation, or coaching with art marketing expert and President of AFA, Brett Barney, or royalty or licensing based sales arrangements. We also have a dedicated effort to finding opportunities for large scale and public art.

Marketing sculpture is capital intensive. Someone has to take the risk to place display pieces so that additional orders can be generated. This is a form of investing that most new sculptors are reluctant to consider. This can be either due to a lack of funding or the fear that they may lose their precious capital. If you have been around this business long enough, you have heard all kinds of stories of bad things happening to artists. How they’ve been taken advantage of, how their copyrights were infringed, the galleries that closed and kept their consigned property.

We want to help. We can work with you in two ways – coach you in developing and growing your business, or actively take a role in the publishing or marketing of your work.

Coaching topics include:

• Identifying and reaching a target audience for your sculpture
• How to stand out in the marketing place
• Why you need to develop your brand and identity and how to do so
• How to sell multiple pieces at a time
• Know where to target/develop your niche
• Approaching galleries and art industry insiders to represent you
• How to sell artwork directly
• How to price your work
• Optimizing for online sales
• How to have an effective event or booth

Publishing opportunities are custom programs built around aligning your sculpting with a buying audience. We can’t promise that you will be an international success and we can’t offer this to everybody. If this is something that you want to know more about, then contact us and we will send you an information packet and instruction on how to get started.